The holistic effects of medical cannabis compared to opioids on pain experience in Finnish patients with chronic pain
March 30, 2023 Jussi Jylkkä, Aleksi Hupli, Aleksandra Nikolaeva et al. preprint
Medical cannabis and opioids are perceived as equally effective at reducing pain intensity, but medical cannabis additionally improves emotion, functionality, and overall sense of wellbeing. A survey of Finnish chronic pain patients compared 40 medical cannabis users with 161 opioid users. After matching for confounding factors, medical cannabis users scored higher on positive emotional effects (large effect) and holistic positive effects (medium effect), with no difference in negative side effects. This supports the idea that medical cannabis alters the pain experience more holistically rather than only targeting pain intensity.